Comparison

Simple RAW Camera vs Bowline Sync

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Simple RAW Camera

Capture professional-grade photos with RAW image support, offering Apple ProRAW or Adobe DNG formats. Easily share your high-resolution images via email or file sharing with your computer.

Highlights
  • RAW image capture
  • Apple ProRAW support
  • Adobe DNG format
  • HEIC capture
  • Email file sharing
  • Mac/PC file sharing
Read full description

This is the simplest but professional use camera. RAW capture available, file format is Apple ProRAW or adobe DNG. Apple ProRAW format is available for iPhone 12 Series and later. Once you capture photo, then you can send raw file through mailer. Or File Sharing is available where your iPhone and Mac/PC connected. Open Finder to find your iPhone, then you can drag and drop to pull RAW data. And also, HEIC capture is available.

About

Bowline Sync

Automatically geotag photos from your Ricoh GR camera and import them into Apple Photos. This app keeps your data private and your originals untouched, offering remote shutter and camera status updates.

Highlights
  • Automatic geotagging of photos
  • Direct import to Apple Photos
  • Remote shutter control
  • Live camera status monitoring
  • On-device data processing
  • Preserves original photo files
Features
Read full description

Bowline pulls photos off your Ricoh GR, geotags them automatically, and saves them to Apple Photos. Everything happens on your device. No account, no analytics, and your data stays yours. The GR III has no built-in GPS. Bowline fixes that without changing how you shoot. SHOOT LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO Pair once and Bowline stays quietly connected while you shoot. Live battery, storage, and camera status on your phone, and a remote shutter when you want it. No fiddling between shots. EVERY SHOT, GEOTAGGED Your photos are geotagged on your phone. While your GR is with you, Bowline keeps a private log of where you are and matches each shot to the place you took it, by capture time. SCAN ONCE, DECIDE ANYWHERE Import everything in one touch, or scan the card and take your time. Swipe through what's new and keep or reject each shot with the camera off and back in your bag. JPEG or DNG, your keepers land exactly as shot, in a dedicated Bowline album in Apple Photos. Once every shot is decided, Bowline tells you the card is safe to format. YOUR FILES, UNTOUCHED The originals on your camera are never modified. Bowline imports clean geotagged copies and leaves the card exactly as it found it. BATTERY THAT GOES THE DISTANCE Sync is a short burst you choose to run, so the camera's battery lasts. No silent background transfers, no surprise drain. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account, no login, no analytics, no third-party data sharing. Your photos and your location are processed on your device and stay under your control. SUPPORTED CAMERAS Built for the Ricoh GR III and GR IV, including all their variants. You will need a Ricoh GR camera to use Bowline. It does not work with other brands. WHY BOWLINE Bowline was built by a GR owner who wanted one focused tool: photos off the camera, tied to the places they were taken, into Apple Photos. Every shot, tied to its place.

Screenshots

Simple RAW Camera4 screens
Bowline Sync4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bowline Sync at 100% against Simple RAW Camera's 55%. Bowline Sync also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). Simple RAW Camera's advantage is ratings volume (83 vs 1) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Simple RAW Camera sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Bowline Sync asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Bowline Sync holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Simple RAW Camera has 83 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 55% of Simple RAW Camera's written reviews are positive against 100% of Bowline Sync's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simple RAW Camera ships an update every 2 months, Bowline Sync daily. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Simple RAW Camera versus Bowline Sync: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimple RAW CameraBowline Sync
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (83 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews54.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings83 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsDaily — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKANAME OHARAhima aramona

Customer experience

Simple RAW Camera

All ratings83 ratings
Positive84.3%
Neutral4.8%
Negative10.8%
Written reviews73 reviews
Positive54.8%
Neutral5.5%
Negative39.7%

Bowline Sync

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Simple RAW Camera

One-time1
  • Full feature option$3.99
None

Bowline Sync

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Simple RAW Camera free?
Simple RAW Camera is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Bowline Sync free?
Bowline Sync is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Simple RAW Camera or Bowline Sync?
Bowline Sync is rated higher. Simple RAW Camera averages 4.3 out of 5 from 83 ratings, while Bowline Sync averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Simple RAW Camera or Bowline Sync have ads?
Simple RAW Camera shows ads; Bowline Sync does not.
Which is updated more often, Simple RAW Camera or Bowline Sync?
Simple RAW Camera ships an update every 2 months, and Bowline Sync daily. Most recently, Simple RAW Camera was updated on October 10, 2026 and Bowline Sync on October 6, 2026.

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